Antarctica: wildlife

1. WILDLIFE
The sea, rather than the land, is what
supports most creatures such as penguins
and seals. It's often warmer than the land,
so is a good place to retreat to and warm up
to a balmy -2ºC. Permanently land-living
plants and animals in Antarctica are small
and ground-hugging to avoid wind chill and
the accompanying dehydration.

2. WILDLIFE
Antarctica holds the record for
being the coldest place on Earth,
which together with extensive ice
cover and lack of winter sunlight
makes the continent pretty
inhospitable to life.

3. WILDLIFE
All of the Antarctic animals have adapted to
extremely cold conditions. Some, like the
whales, seals, and birds, have an insulating
layer of fat to protect them. Others, like many
fish and insects, have special chemicals in their
blood (natural antifreeze proteins) that keep
them from freezing. Many animals (like
penguins and seals) have a compact body form
and thick skin to help retain body heat. Birds
also have waterproof plumage and insulating
feathers.

4. ANIMALS
There are a lot of sea animals in Antarctica-
whales, fish, and krill (small crustaceans
like prawns). The only land animals in penguins
Antarctica are penguins and seals (and people).
krill
whales fish

5. SEALS
Only six species of seals live in Antarctica-
elephant seals, Antarctic fur seals, crabeater
seals, leopard Seals, Ross seals, and Weddell
seals. However, these six species make up the
majority of the world's seal population. With
no natural land predators, such as polar bears
or man, Antarctic seals behave much differently
than northern seals, showing little fear of man.

6. FISH AND INSECTS
Some animals, like many fish and insects, have
special chemicals in their blood (natural antifreeze
proteins) that keep them from freezing. Many
animals (like penguins and seals) have a compact
body form and thick skin to help retain body heat.
Birds also have waterproof plumage (feathers) and
downy insulating feathers.

7. There are very few species
of fish in the Southern
Ocean. The channichthyidae
family, also known as white-
blooded fish, are only found
in the Southern Ocean. They
lack haemoglobin in their
blood, resulting in their
blood being colourless.
FISH AND INSECTS

8. Because of the extreme cold climate in this
continent, plants generally do not grow in
abundance. Antarctica does not offer some
essential elements to its plants such as the
inadequate amount of sunlight, poor soil
quality, lack of moisture, and above all,
consistent freezing temperatures.
PLANTS

9. As a result plants grow in limited
region. In this continent, some 25
species of liverworts and 100
species of mosses grow each
year.The flora of Antarctica
primarily consists of bryophytes.
However, they grow only for few
weeks or perhaps for a few days
in summer.

10. PLANTS